Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Obama moving the goalposts

Earlier this week, the Columbus Dispatch criticized Barack Obama for his pathetic speech and the recent shift in his rhetoric. According to the newspaper, the standards by which he evaluates the economic recovery have evolved since even the beginning of his presidency:

In the earlier days of the administration, Obama and other Democratic leaders said more than once that Americans could expect to see an economic turnaround before the 2012 election; if they didn’t, they could justifiably vote for someone else. Now that the day of reckoning is less than five months away, Obama is moving the goalposts again: In Thursday’s speech, he said the United States is still digging out after a decade of “falling behind,” and that it’s widely recognized that it takes 10 years for economies to recover “from a recession like this.”

Indeed, the change of tune in his rhetoric is quite jarring. His words speak for themselves. In October 2011, President Obama admitted that he didn’t think Americans were “better off than they were four years ago.” But just a few weeks ago, he said that the private sector was “doing fine.” Those two statements, it’s worth noting, are a mere eight months apart.

Such dramatic transformations – particularly those made over such a short period of time – are generally accompanied by new facts. With unemployment now at 8.2 percent, however, it’s hard to imagine why the President would seek to portray this as an improvement. The fact that millions of Americans can’t find a job indicates the contrary. So does the fact that economy grew at a rate of less than 2 percent in the first quarter of this year.

It’s become clear that President Downgrade is not only out of touch with the American people, but disconnected from his own record. Instead of focusing on small towns across America, he’s showered his celebrity allies with attention. He’s lost touch with what’s happening in the heartland, and I predict that come November, the American people will tell him they’ve had enough.

Contact 3BP

Welcome to 3BP!

Have a tip? Interested in posting on 3BP? Drop us an email at thirdbasepolitics @ gmail.com (remove the spaces)

Third Base Politics is an Ohio-centric conservative blog that has been featured at Hot Air, National Review, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Michelle Malkin, and Ace of Spades, among others.